tai basin urban environment project environmental ......2004/04/08 · tai basin urban environment...

E808VOL. 5

Tai Basin Urban Environment Project

Environmental Assessment

SUMMARY REPORT

Environmental Hydraulic Institute of Hohai University

Nanjing People's Republic of China

November 2003

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Administrator

Volume 4

Tai Basin Urban Environment Project

Environmental Assessment

SUMMARY REPORT

Environmental Hydraulic Institute of Hohai University

Nanjing People's Republic of China

November 2003

Tai Basin Urban En vironment Project Summnary EA

Tai Basin Urban Environment ProjectEnvironmental Assessment

SUMMARY REPORT

Jiangsu Province, the People's Republic of China(November, 2003)

I Introduction

1.1 Project Background

The Project consists mainly of six wastewater treatment plants, a lake rehabilitation program, aflood and pollution control program, a river dredging program, and several non-physicalcomponents related to environmental management and institutional strengthening. All projectcomponents are located in Jiangsu province's industrial cities of Wuxi and Suzhou, within the TaiLake Basin (TLB), as shown in Figure 1. 1.

The TLB, with a total catchment area of 36,500 km2, spans across three provinces and themunicipality of Shanghai, with 52.5% of its area within Jiangsu province. As one of the mostdeveloped regions in China, the TLB generates 11% of the national GDP with its 37 highlyindustrialized medium and large cities and a population of 36.8 million which is 3% of thenational total.

In 1997, the State Council of the Chinese central government announced "Decisions On Issues ofEnvironmental Protection" (the Decisions), which has since become a primary guide for thecountry's environmental protection and pollution control effort. One of the important initiativesunder the State Council's Decisions is the "Three Lakes and Three Rivers" pollution controlprogram, referring to the six landmark and most sensitive water bodies and river basins in China.The TLB is one of the three lakes and thus one of the highest priority water basin pollutioncontrol programs in the country. Guided by this program, the State Council approved the TenthFive-Year (2001-2005) Tai Lake Water Pollution Prevention Plan which sets the goal to reachCategory III (permanganate index or CODm,) to IV-V (total phosphorus or TP) of the SurfaceWater Quality standards by 2005.

To meet these goals, the Plan calls for reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge113,400 tons per day by 2005 which will be about 23% reduction from the year 2000 discharge,2,000 tons of TP, about 14% reduction and 30,900 tons of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), about24% reduction. This would require the construction of 76 municipal wastewater treatments plants(WWTP) in Jiangsu province, as well as 16 WWTPs in other jurisdictions of the TLB. The Planalso calls for ecosystem rehabilitation and lake/river sediment dredging programs as part of thecomprehensive TLB environmental improvement strategy with an estimated total investment ofRMB22 billion.

EHlof Hohai University I November 2003

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Tai Basin Urban Environment Project Summary EA

The six municipal wastewater treatment plants, to be built by the Project are among the 76municipal treatment plants in Jiangsu province identified by the Plan while the Projectrehabilitation and river dredging components are part or in line with the Plan initiatives. As such,these treatment plants and other Project components consist of an integral and pivotal part of theeffort to meet the State and provincial goals for TLB pollution control and sustainable waterresources management. The Project would also set an example for the region as appropriateplanned and designed integrated water pollution control and water quality improvementinitiatives and investments.

An Environment Assessment (EA) was conducted for each of physical components. The EA is toidentify in early stage of potential environmental benefits and consequences of the project,propose measures to avoid, mitigate or otherwise compensate negative environmental impactsduring construction and operation, and allow incorporation of appropriate measures in the designto mitigate negative impacts to a minimum and acceptable level. On basis of each component EAwhich has been approved by the Jiangsu Environmental Protection Bureau (JEPB) betweenDecember 2002 to May 2003 (except Loujiang and Fuxin WWTP component which are expectedto be approved by December 2003), a Project wide environmental impact assessment (EA) reportand environmental management plan (EMP), collectively known as the EA documentation, havebeen compiled by the Environmental Hydraulic Institute of Hohai University, with the assistancefrom the project Design Review and Advisory (DRA) consultant, Montgomery Watson Harza.This document is a summary of the EA documentation.

1.2 Current Situation

The TLB is one of the most rapidly developed regions in China. Between the period of 1980 to1998, the regional GDP had increased 17 times, averaged 17% per year. Together with such rapidgrowth of the economy, industrialization and urbanization, a large amount of wastewater has beengenerated, much of which is untreated prior to being discharged to the receiving rivers in the TLB,leading eventually to Tai Lake. By year 2000, the total discharge of industrial wastewater hadreached 1 billion m3 , domestic wastewater 460 million m3 and a large volume of rural wastewaterand contaminated runoff from agricultural fields in the TLB, more than half of which was fromJiangsu province. In terms of pollutant loads, the total COD discharge had reached 491,500 tons,TP 14,400 tons and NH3-N, 130,000 tons, rendering the region among the highest pollutantgeneration and discharging loads on a unit area basis in the country.

The discharging issue is compounded by the fact that Tai Lake is virtually a sealed water bodywith a complete turn-over time of about one year. Furthermore, the most active hydraulicexchange of the Lake occurs at its southeast part, towards the Shanghai area, while the majorityof the pollutants received by the Lake are from north and northwest. The sub-lakes Meiliang andWuli at the north end of the Lake alone receive one third of the total pollutants by the entire Lake.The high pollutant discharge loads coupled with the highly stagnant water in the same area hasresulted in serious deterioration of water quality of the lake body in the north at shore with Wuxi.Changzhou and Suzhou.

According to the year 2000 water quality monitoring data, all 28 monitored sections of rivers inthe TLB exceeded the targeted Category III standards. As to the Lake body itself, 19 of the 20monitored locations exceeded the targeted standards. In particular, nutrients are among the mostserious contaminants and from 65-95% of all the monitored sites had their TP exceeded CategoryV standard, the least acceptable regulatory standard. Such an inflow of nutrients to the slowly

EHlofHohai University 2 November 2003

Tai Basin Urban Environment Project Sununary EA

flowing rivers and even more stagnant lake bodies has resulted in eutrophication causing anexcessive growth of water borne vegetation, damages of the lake ecosystem and deterioration ofwater quality. In 1990, an outbreak of blue-algae blooms in the Lake forced shut-down a majorwater supply plant and 116 industrial operations in Wuxi.

The deteriorating water quality in the TLB has significantly affected the sustainable economicdevelopment in and competitiveness of this fast growing region. Many investments are nowdemanding pollution control infrastructure and capability as an investment prerequisite in theregion. If without any control, the deteriorating trend of environmental quality in the TLB isexpected to continue, offsetting the development achievement. Another consequence of waterpollution is the adverse impact on the standard of living for the regional rural and urban residents,particularly as a very large proportion of the TLB residents very closely to water bodies in thisregion which is extensively divided by rivers, canals, ponds and lakes. Furthermore, theworsening water quality threatens beneficial function uses of TLB water bodies, includingindustrial and municipal water supply sources, aquaculture, irrigation, ecosystem, recreation andtourist attractions.

The urgency for immediate improvement in the TLB environment is apparent. Not only has theTLB missed part of its year 2000 surface water quality and pollution control targets set by theNinth Five-Year Plan, the water quality in the TLB has the potential tendency to worsen alongwith the industrial development and population growth. The Project will contribute to reversingthe trend of water quality deterioration and an important stage in achieving the state andprovincial environmental goals.

1.3 Basis for the EA

The basis for the EA is:* Environmental Protection Laws of PRC (December, 1989); and other state laws and

regulations for water, air, soil, ocean, solid waste pollution control;* Tenth Five Year Plan for Tai Lake Water Pollution Prevention Plan, SEPA, (August 2001);* Terms of Reference (TOR) for Environmental Impact Assessment on World Bank Financed

Tai Basin Urban Environment Project, Environmental Hydraulic Institute, Hohai University,(December 2002);

* Review Comments on Appraisal of the Terms of Reference for Environmental ImpactAssessment on World Bank Financed Tai Basin Urban Environment Project, SEPA, (April,2003);

* Notice on Strengthening management on Environmental Assessment for ConstructionProjects Loaned by Intemational Financial Organizations, NEPA, SPC, the Ministry Financeand the People's Bank of China, No. [1993] 324;

* Operational Policies, Bank Procedures, and Good Practices OP/BP/GP4.01: EnvironmentAssessment, the World Bank, (January, 1999) and other safeguard policies;

* A series of aide-memoirs of the World Bank missions (November 2002 to October 2003);and

* Feasibility study reports for each of the Project physical components, prepared by ShanghaiInvestigation Design and Research Institute of Ministry of Water Resource, TsinghuaUnisplendour Environmental Protection Co., Environmental Engineering Department of theTongji University and Wuxi Municipal Engineering Design Institute, respectively,(November 2002 to August 2003).

EHIofHohai University 3 November 2003


The most important impact assessment criteria and environmental target standards are the"Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water" (GB3838-2002) According to thisStandard, surface water quality has been divided into five categories depending on theirfunctional uses. These categories and key parameters within the standard, as they may be relatedto this Project, are as follows:

Table 1.1 Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water

Category Description Key parame ers (mg/L)CODMfl < CODcr < NH3-N < TP 'I Applicable to sources of water bodies and 2 15 0.15 0.02

national nature reservesII Applicable to Class A water resourceII_____ Protection for drinking water or precious fish 15 0.5 0.1III Applicable to Class B water resource and 6 20 1.0 0.2

general fishing or swimmingIV General industrial water supply or secondary 10 30 1.5 0.3

Recreational useAgricultural water resource or general 15 40 2.0 0.4amenity purposes _

Other environmental discharge/emission and ambient environmental quality standards applied inthe EA, based on the functions and zoning of the impacted area and as designated by relevantauthorities, include:* Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard GB8978-1996;* Water Quality Standard for Wastewater Discharged into Municipal Sewer CJ3082-1999;* Ambient Air Quality Standards, GB3095-1996, Class HI;* Hygienic Standard of Industrial Enterprises Design, TJ36-79 Class II;* Environmental Noise Standards for Urban Areas, GB3096-93, Class I for sensitive receptors

such as schools, hospitals and residential areas and Class 1I to IV for other facilities based onthe actual zoning of the areas where these facilities are located;

* Standard of Noise at Boundary of Industrial Enterprises GB 12348-90;* Noise Limits for Construction Site, GB 12523-90;* Environmental Quality Standard for Soils, GB15618-1995, Class III;* Control Standards for Pollutants in Sludge from Agricultural Use GB4284-84;* Sludge agricultural standard described in "Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal

WWTP" GB 18918-2002;* Identification Standard for Hazardous Wastes - Identification for Extraction Procedure

Toxicity GB5085.3-1996, and* Discharge Standard of Pollutants for Municipal WWTP, Class I Category A and Class I

Category B, GB 18918-2002.

1.4 Safeguards IssuesOf the ten safeguards policies, Environment Assessment (OP4.01) and Involuntary Resettlement(OP4.12) are the primary focus.

(I) OP 4.01 --Environmental AssessmentA project wide EA report is drafted to provide a comprehensive assessment of potential impacts,both positive and negative, from the project implementation. A strong focus of the environmental

EHloftHohai University 4 November 2003


assessment has been given to the analysis of altematives, including altemative sites for physicalworks such as WWTPs, sludge disposal, etc., altemative wastewater treatment processes,altemative layouts of WWTPs, and altemative methods of dredging and sediment shipping andfinal disposal, based on a sediment sampling and characterization program during the EA.

While evaluating potential impacts of the project, the EA take considerations of the effects of allpollution control activities in the region, whether financed by the Bank or not, in order to be ableto see the project in a strategic context. This includes various activities and programs in the TenthFive-Year Plan (2001-2005) and Master Plan (to 2010) for Pollution Prevention in Tai Lake.Project benefits are identified and assessed in conjunction with the State and provincialgovernment's strategy for treatment and/or management of the heavily polluted water bodies inthe Tai Lake basin.

Adverse impacts have also been identified and assessed, including potential impacts to surfaceand groundwater from sludge/dredged materials disposal, noise, nuisance odor, visual impactsand impacts during construction. Appropriate mitigation measures have been proposed to reduceand minimize these adverse impacts to acceptable levels.

(2) OP 4.12--Involuntary ResettlementThree separate Resettlement Action Plans are drafted for Wuxi municipality, Suzhou municipality,and for Tai Lake area, respectively. The RAPs provide the details of the local resettlementpolicies in all jurisdictions in the project area in conjunction with the development of the Bank'sRAPs. A thorough and detailed inventory of affected housing and other public and privateproperties, as well as compensation standards are created, based on a house to house survey in theproject field. A social survey of the communities in the project area has also been conducted and,its results, included in the RAPs to provide a socio-economic background of the project region.

(3) OP4. 11 --Cultural PropertiesThe project area has a long history of human activities. A survey of the project region for culturalproperties was conducted during project EA and at least one of the important cultural properties islocated near a project site. Based on the detailed analysis of altemative sites for this componentfor its potential impact to the cultural property in the project EA, the original proposed site hasbeen changed and moved farther away cultural property to minimize the potential adverseimpacts.

(4) OP/BP4.04--Natural HabitatsBy general definition, many lake areas in the Tai Lake Basin may be considered as wetland. Theyare indeed an integrated ecosystem for plants, waterfowls, birds, fish and other aquatic lives, butthe years of the highly concentrated human activities in the project area have caused deteriorationof the ecosystem, and man made vegetation and natural protection area is set up more than 20 kmaway from the Project. Therefore, the Project will do no adverse impact to natural habitats andOP/BP4.04 will not involve in the Project.

(5) Other Safeguards PoliciesAs the project activities are not expected to be related to the following safeguards policies, theyare not applicable in this project.

* OP4.09 Pest Management* OD4.20 Indigenous Peoples

EHl of Hohai University 5 November 2003


* OP4.36 Forestry* OP/BP4.37 Safety of Dams* OP7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas* OP7.50 International Waterways

1.5 Scope of Assessment and Applicable Standards

According to project TOR, the EA covers the following areas:* Noise: 200 m on both sides of the project roads, 200 m from the boundaries of WWTP and

pumping stations, boundaries of construction sites;* Water: receiving water of the WWTPs, Jiangsu part of the TLB bounded by Changjiang

(Yangtze) river to the north, border of Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the east,the Tai lake itself and Taipu river to the south including the lake body and Xicheng river tothe west.

* Air: 500 m from the project roads, canals, WWTPs, sludge disposal sites and pumpingstations;

* Groundwater: area surrounding;* Soil and vegetation: project area, land acquired and/or occupied, and land application of

sludge; and* Community: 100 to 500 m from all project sites.

2 Project Description

Major components of the Project are summarized in Table 2.1 below.

EHI of Hohai University 6 November 2003


Table 2.1 Tai River Basin Project Comr onentsComponents Description Scope of Service

P West side of Suzhou withLoujiang WWTP . 80,000 m3/day Phase II WWTP 35.5 km2

* Population:517,900* East side of Suzhou with

Fuxing WWTP * 100,000 m3/day Phase II WWTP 46.6 km2

* Population: 385,700* 72 industrial discharges

Wuzhong WWTP * 23.4 km sewer pipeline * 15.26 km2 industrial park* 100,000 M3/day WWT1'P a Population: 54,000

Suzhou Polluted Water Control * Two shiplock and two water gates * Urban area SuzhouSuzhou river dredging * 65.7 km of river dredging * 75 km2 of urban area

Huishan WWTP * 57.6 km sewer pipeline * 39.55 km 2 urban area* a 25,000 m3/day WWTP * Population: 58,900

Dongting WWTP * 48.177 km sewer pipeline * 64.6 km2 area* 30,000 m3/day Phase II WWTP * Population: 93,300

A 39.2 km sewer pipeline * Three towns & an industrialAnzhen WWTP * a 50,000 m3/day WWTP park, totaling 22.63 km2

* Population: 42,100

Wuli Lake * Water level regulation with 11 gatesrehabilitation * 25.6 km of shoreline rehabilitation * Wuli Lake

* 233.5 km2 lake ecosystem restoration* Strategic studies

Non-physical . Institutional strengthening & training

C Construction supervision

The municipal wastewater treatment plants are primarily based on a uniform design with somevariations corresponding to the characteristics of influents and other conditions in each Projectcomponent service area. The uniforn design consists mainly of screening and grit removalfollowed by a sequential batch reactor (SBR) system. The sludge produced will first be thickenedand dewatered prior to being disposed at operating municipal solid waste landfills in Wuxi andSuzhou respectively. Final effluent will be discharged to the receiving water with disinfection.

Sediment in the dredging component will be mechanically dredged by boat mounted excavatorsand shipped by barge to a disposal/filling pond. The sediment sampling program conductedduring the EA shows that the sediment meets the agricultural application standards and are nothazardous.

It is critical to the success of the Project that institutions and personnel responsible forimplementing the proposed project are equipped with the management and technical knowledge,skills and information necessary to fulfill their responsibilities. Technical assistance (TA)components are included to provide assistance to training and institutional strengthening forprovincial and municipal PMOs, Provincial EPB and the proposed wastewater companies.

3 Environmental Baselines



3.1 General setting

The TLB is located in the middle of the China east coast. The general topography slopes verymildly from west to east towards the East China Sea with differential elevation of only 4-5 m.There is a small hilly area at the west TLB, taking about one sixth of the total area while theremind five sixth as plain at elevations of below 10 m. The TLB has one fifth of its area coveredby lakes, marsh and rivers, with river density of 3-4 km/km2.

3.2 Climate conditions and air quality

The TLB is in the subtropical zone where monsoon climate dominates. The climate ischaracterized with distinct four seasons including dry cold winters and fuggy hot summers. Theannual average temperature is 15A18 °C with the hottest monthly of 27.5-31.2 °C in July andcoldest of 5.5-8.5 °C below zero in January. The Average annual precipitation is 1200 mm, 70%-80% of which occur between May to October of each year. The typhoon season of August toOctober could bring high intensity precipitation. The annual evaporation in the region is between1200 mmto 1500 mm.

The Project components are mostly in the suburb or lake areas, with the dredging component inthe urban center in Suzhou. An ambient air quality monitoring program conducted during the EAshowed that in general, the green field sites such as Huishan and Anzhen WWTPs and Wuli lakeareas have good air quality while all four proposed wastewater treatment plants are to be built ongreen field sites. But in other sites and in urban areas, some ambient air quality parametersexceeded the applicable standards, including PMI0/TSP in Dongting, Loujiang, and WuzhongWWTPs and two river dredging sites, SO2 and NO2 I dredging sites and H25 in Loujiang WWTPsite. The primary sources of these air contaminants are roads and other urban activities and, incase of Loujiang WWTP, operation of the phase I WWTPs at the same sites.

3.2 Water supply and wastewater generation

Water demands are projected based on per capita consumption for domestic and unit industrialarea water consumption for industrial water demands. For the six WWTPs in the Project, the unitdomestic water consumption is assumed to be from 160A190 /capita/day for year 2010 (the planhorizon for this Project) and 200 I/capita/day for year 2020. Industrial water demands areestimated based on the service area and the assumptions used are 3320-5500 m3/km2/day for year2010 and 5000-6640 m3/km2/day for year 2020, depending on the nature of the industries to beserviced. Wastewater volumes are assumed to be 80% of the water supply, with considerationsfor consumption and losses. The wastewater generation projection is summarized in Table 3.1.



Table 3.1 Wastewater Generation Pr oectionService Domestic Industrial Industrial Total

WWTP Year population wastewater service area wastewater wastewater(x 1,000) (x 1,00 M3/d (kmn2) (X 1,000 M3 /d) (X 1,000 m3/d)

Loujlang 2010 386.8 74 14.03 69 1432020 388.6 82 7.41 71 153

Fuxing 2010 312.5 60 1.23 51 112________ 2020 333.3 71 2.45 56 127

Wuzhong 2010 81.0 10 4.04 22 32Wuzhong2020 108.0 15 5.4 28 43

Huishan 2010 120.5 13 6.05 30 432020 149.9 19 11.22 50 69

Dongtin 2010 124.6 18 8.52 49 67D 2020 165.3 25 16.04 82 107

nzhe 2010 66.0 7 6.58 20 27en 2020 85.0 11 8.83 29 40

3.3 Water pollution sources and surface water quality

Main sources of water pollution are from industrial, domestic and other wastewater discharges.The wastewater flow and COD loads from these sources are summarized in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Wastewater Sources and Pollution Loads in Project AreasItems Wuxi Suzhou

No. of key enterprises* 93 106Industrial Wastewater flow (million m3/a) 219.49 119.97

COD load (t/a) 13,982 11,500Urban Population 1,153,100 871,700

Domsi Rural population 952,700 221,900Domestic Wastewater flow (million m3/a) 74.97 71.08

_ COD load (t/a) 34,891 23,567* No. of key industrial enterprises having 80% of the total industrial wastewater flow

In addition, there are substantial wastewater flows from agricultural sources. While the exact flowvolume is unknown, the pollutant loads from farm fields (area sources) are estimated to be about16% for COD, 38% for TP and 57% for NH3-N of the total pollutant loads in these areas,respectively.

Pollutants discharges have resulted in water quality deterioration. Water quality monitoring datafor year 2002 at key water bodies relevant to this Project are summarized in Table 3.3


TatsBir Ufrbut EnvwomnentProject Summary EA

Table 3.3 Surface Water Quality Near Project Sites avera values, nQ/L

ICity River/lake Distance to project sites COD TP NH3rN DesignatedC lty u,I~i.nnce project _____f_TP CategoryXibei 200 m to Huishan WWTP 11.0 0.41 5.15 IVlJiuli/Shentang 2.5 kIn to Anzhen WWTP 33.0 0A45 8-29Jiuli/Zhongan 2.5 kmlto Dongting WWTP 38.3 0.27 5.6 IV

Wuxi Liangxi 2.0 km to control gate site 7,61 044 688 IniMali 50le m to control gate site 8.27 0-62 6-59 1Wuli lak_ e On rehabilitation site 7 3 022 0.57 lIlMeiliang lake On rehabilitation site 7.6 0.31 3.61 in1Sbangtang On dredging site 26.7 0,39 584 IVShantang On dredging site 50 7 1 25 8 _87 IV

Loujiang 500 m to Loujiang WWTP 26.4 0.21 5.59 IVSuzhou Grand canal (@, km toF WWTP 48 0.36 1.77 IV

Wufu bridge __I_km_to_F__xin_WWTP 4- 0

Grand canal@ I km to Wuzhong WWTP 17.8 - I 1,83 IV

The table shows that the four major rivers in Wuli Lake have seriously exceeded the applicablesurface water quality standards atid the water quality at the time of measuretnetit was getierallyworse than Category V, particularly for NH,-N and TP. The two lakes in Wuxi (Wuli andMeiliang) exceeded the standards designated for their respective finctiotial uses (Category 1II),too. NH3-N in all rivers in Suzhou exceeded the Category V standards, indicating serious nutrientpolution. For other parameters, those rivers in or near the urban center were very high and insome cases exceeded Category V standards while rivers away from the urban center such asLoujiang, etc. have a fair quality. This implies a close relationship of surface water pollution withpopulation density and human activities.

3.4 Land use and ecological environment

The land uses of the project cities are shown in Figure 3 1 below

* Fannland* Ot)rdlard

o Woodlando Domcstic and ind al landU Transport land

U Water area

* Lt'nused land

Figure 3.1 Land uses of the project

The highest proportion of land utilization is water bodies, reflecting the regional land andtopography characteristics in the TLB.

EHl of eo/wni Univecrr 1 November 2013

Tai Basin Urban Environment Project Summnary EA

Resulting from years of land reclamation around the Tai Lake, the wetland under the strictdefnition has become scarce until recently. These remaining wetlands have mostly in small areas,scattered along the east shore area of the Lake. These wetlands are not in the national wetlandprotection list and are at least 19.8 km to the nearest physical works of the Project.

In the Lake area itself, there are 24 species of phytoplankton, eight species of zooplankton, sixspecies of benthos and 101 species of fish. Except fish farming in the lake, fish population in thenatural habitat in the Lake has been gradually reducing due mainly to water pollution and overfishing. For the two Project directly impacted sub-lakes, the biomass and biodiversity of Meilianglake is apparently higher than those in Wuli lake. In the Project rivers in the Suzhou area, thepollution is so bad, fish, plankton and benthos are virtually extinct.

On the land, there are 950 species of plants in the Project area. But with over a very long historyof human activities and cultivation in this highly densely populated area, there is basically nonatural growth of vegetation. For the same reason, there has been no record of wild animals,except common species of birds and snakes, as well as domestic animals, in the region.

3.5 Soil and sediment

The Project area soil baseline is determined through a soil sampling and analysis program duringthe EA. Four soil samples were collected, three from proposed Project sites and one fromproposed spoiled soil disposal site. Heavy metals were analyzed for the soil samples and theresults that all met Class III standards of Environmental Soil Quality Standards, concluding noevidence of soil contamination at the Project sites.

In order to understand the nature and quantity of sediment to be dredged and in preparation forsediment dredging method, transportation and final disposal, an extensive sediment samplingprogram was conducted during the EA. In total, 22 sediment samples had been collected from therivers to be dredged, the sampling locations and methods were determined by the followingprinciples:

* Downstream from potential contamination sources including those which are now closed(e.g., Alloy Materials Plant which was closed in 1994);

* Uniformity, representative and overage of all proposed dredging area;All sediment samples were composite in accordance with the applicable standard samplingmethodology and procedures;

* Four sediment samples were collected from different depths as the thickness of theselocations were higher than 0.8 m; and

* 12 sediment samples were composite from different points at the same cross-section. Thesesix samples were also analyzed by a leaching test in accordance with the procedures fortesting hazardous waste (GB5085.3-1996), in addition to the Agricultural SludgeApplication Standards.

The analytical results show that sediment thickness is from 17 to 150 cm and its water contentfrom 36 to 96% with most around 40-70%. The heavy metals content meets the agriculturalsludge application standards. The leaching test revealed none of the samples collected exceededthe hazardous waste standards, indicating that the sediment can be classified as non-hazardousand could be disposed of in agricultural land.



3.6 Acoustic environment

A total 27 locations at the Project physical works sites and selected sensitive receptors in theimmediately adjacent areas in both Wuxi and Suzhou cities during the EA. Some of these sitesare green fields sties in the country where besides farming and other agriculture related activities,there are no industrial or urban facilities and operations, thus no major noise sources, at andaround these sites. Other sites, however are located in urban center and well built up areas orindustrial parks/zones surrounding by busy roads, commercial/residential facilities and/orindustrial operations, all of which could be noise sources. The field noise monitoring shows thatout of 53 monitored locations, eight exceeded nighttime or both day and night noise standards fortheir respective noise zoning. The main reason for the non-compliance was either industrial noise(e.g., Fuxin and Loujiang WWTPs where there are operating wastewater treatment facilities fromPhase I and motor boat noise from the nearby canal), or traffic noise. The noise exceedance levelswere about 3-6 dB(A) above the applicable standards for the most of the noise non-compliancesites.

3.7 Socio-economic conditions

The key socio-economic indicators of the TLB are summarized in Table 3.4.

Table 3.4 Key Socio-Economic Indicators of the TLB (2002)Items Indicators

Population * Urban population, 17.78 million* Total population, 35.98 million

Land * Cultivated land: 21.45 million mu* Total land, 49.88 million mu

Urbanization * Municipalities: 8 municipalities* Urbanization rate: 49%

Agriculture (Jiangsu province part . Major crops: rice, vegetables, fruits, etc.only) . Total agricultural output: RMB 23.215 billion

* Major industries: high tech, electronics, fabric & garments,Industry (Jiangsu province part machining, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, foodonly) & brewery, etc.

* Total industrial output: RMB 282.419 billion

General Economy (Jiangsu . GDP, RMB 498.253 billionprovince part only) a Average per capita GDP, RMB 30,600

3.8 Cultural Properties

Based on field investigation of the Project site, there is one city level and two province levelcultural relics in the Project area. In the Suzhou area, Hanshan temple was first built in LiangDynasty (502-509 A.D.) and re-built between 1906 to 1911. The provincial level cultural propertyis located several hundred meters from the proposed shiplock and water control gate sites. Thereare two other cultural properties, one provincial (the ancient Hengtang post) and city (Caiyunbridge) level and both at the Grand Canal near Suzhou.

4 Analysis of Alternatives


Tai Basin Urban En vironment Project Summary EA

During the Project development, various alternatives have been screened and compared withtechnical, economic and environmental criteria. In terms of the environmental comparison for thealternatives, the primary objective was to identify and adopt options with the least adverseenvironmental impacts. The evaluation and comparison have been made for altematives of thefollowing components and/or aspects:

Locations of the shiplocks and flood and wastewater control gates with a focus on potentialvisual and other impacts to nearby cultural properties;

* Methods of dredging and sediment shipment sites, with focus on odor, traffic, leaking water,double handling, etc.

* Locations of sediment disposal with focus on sediment characteristics particularly heavymetal contents and impacts to groundwater, surrounding environment, land application, etc.

* WWTP locations with focus on environmental sensitivities of the sites, relation to servicedareas, and locations for final effluent discharge;

* Wastewater treatment processes, with focus on reliability, capability for phosphorus andnitrogen removal, ability to handle fluctuation in wastewater flows and characteristics, etc.

* Method of WWTP disposal with considerations on sludge composition particularly heavymetal contents, and potential impacts to the surrounding environment of the disposal sites andsustainability and economic viability; and

* The scenario of with and without the project.

5 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation

5.1 Impacts during construction phase

The project construction activities are expected to generate the following adverse impacts:

* Air borne dust, mainly due to construction vehicle movement, land preparation and lake shorerehabilitation, and materials preparation and handling. If without any mitigation measure, thedust concentration is expected to reach 2.89 mg/m3 20 m from such an activity and to reduceto 0.86 mg/m3 100 m from the site. Therefore, the impact will be limited to residents locatedwithin 100 m from the construction sites and along the both sides of road constructiontransportation routes.

* Noise, from construction equipment, dredging machinery and vehicular and barge movement.The noise, as high as 110 dB(A), could travel a long distance in the open field around thesources, affecting nearby urban residents and rural villagers.

* Dredging impacts. Besides noise from dredging machinery and sediment shipping barges, amajor impact of dredging activities will be the nuisance odor from disturbed sediment. Theodor is expected to impact areas 150 m from the dredging sites. As most residents living onboth sides of the Project rivers are either on the river banks or 20-150 m away from the banks,they will be impacted by the odor particularly in the summer when the high temperaturemakes the odor strong and residents may have to open the windows for ventilation.Sediment disposaL Based on a site geological study, the Sanjiaozhui sediment disposal sitehas either layers of different soils from clay to sand totaling 6.2 m before reaching thegroundwater table. The site has a 3 m depression and of the remaining 3.2 m at the bottom,0.8 m is clay with an infiltration rate in the order of magnitude of 10-7 cm/s and 2.4 m of siltyclay with the rate of 10-5 cm/s. At such slow rates, coupled with the filtration capacity of thesoil layers which is effective for getting rid of main contaminant in the leachate, thesuspended solids (SS), the impact to groundwater is thus expected to be limited. However, the



leachate could be discharged also laterally towards the nearby Shiziyang river and impact theriver by SS for up to 400 m downstream according to a model applied during the EA.

* Wastewater collection system impact The wastewater collection systems in Huishan, Anzhenand Wuzhong sewer network services are mostly to be constructed on the green field,together with road and other infrastructure. Main impact will be airborne dust but the areaswill have been mostly leveled and under development with minimum sensitive receptors. Inother sewer service areas, sewer lines are needed to construct, at least partially, in urban builtup areas. Main impacts will be block of urban traffic, airborne dust during excavation, noisefrom machinery, outing and convenience of local residents and construction safety to thegeneral public.

* Land impact. The Project would occupy 60.56 ha of land permanently and 544.94 ha.temporarily. Of this amount, 32.24 ha will be agricultural land, about 5.32% of the total landowned by the affected villages. The largest land use by the Project will be the sedimentdisposal site which will take 53.72 ha of abandoned fish ponds. Although this occupation istemporary by nature, it will change the land use, from fish pond to landscaping/green landupon completing of filling. The new land use however, is in line with Suzhou city's masterplan and zoning plan.

* Traffic impacts The main traffic impact will be on those on area water ways. By using 5-40 tbarges, the sediment will be transported from dredging rivers to the disposal site. Based onthe barge traffic density and the existing conditions of the river network and traffic in it, theincreased barge traffic by the Project will affect two sections of rivers which are relativelynarrow. In addition, the gate construction in Wuxi would also affect water traffic as theconstruction would narrow, and sometimes completely cut off, the navigation channels in theProject rivers.

5.2 Water impacts - primary positive impacts/benefits of the Project

The Project will bring significant benefits to the water environment of the TLB and other aspectsof the environment and lives which depend on water quality. On a river network basis, a unsteadywater quantity and quality model has projected that except the effluent receiving sections of rivers,the river network at the Project area, as well as Grand Canal Wuxi and Suzhou sections would seewater quality improvement following the operation of the six Project wastewater treatment plants.More specifically, at 2010 when all six WWTPs are in operation, the below Category V riverlength will be reduced from the current level of 16% to 11.5%, while Category IV will increasefrom the current 30.9% to 33.6% and Category III from 1.9% to 3.7%. Figure 5.1 shows theimpacts of the Project and the 108 WWTPs in the master plan on water quality of the rivernetwork.


Taid Bash Urban Envuronent Prowjed Summary EA

r --'9 ;i

~~- -1- --- ;.

. ~ ~ ~ - _ - . ~ _ _ _

(Without 6 WWTPs of the Project)

_, U *i__'^

(With 8 WWTPs of the Project)

', sM; J ~ . ~- ;-- ''4 -1 Uv

; _ ~~~~-- -p - Ae- -. *

f s;, - - - ,/ z i _S t-_ 1*0.

aF-; -.. t9-v1^1'--,- ,,i - -

m -6

t. , t ^-. ' r' .; C.>

s *7-e ' *,,- ,;- - w* XsLI,,t.: ... <;

(With 108 WWTPs)Figure 5.1 The mean annual concentration ofCODc in 2010 under three scenarios

Eli! of Hohai Unv.--* ' ' Nvemobe 200)


In fact, the six Project WWTPs are part of the overall Tai Lake water quality improvement planwhich calls for construction of 108 WWTPs in the Jiangsu part of the TLB. When all 108WWTPs are completed and operational, the below Category V river is expected to further reduceto 3.12% while Category IV increased to 64.9% and Category HI to 11.2%

As these rivers are one of the major pollution sources to the Tai lake (the other being agriculturaland area sources), the improvement of river water quality will result in improvement of the lakewater quality. The modeling of the lake water quality shows that TP at Meiliang lake would dropby 20%, and BOD 30% by 2010 when the six WWTPs are completed. If all WWTPs in the regionare built as planned, up to7O-80% of the pollutants currently discharged to the lake would beintercepted and removed. The entire Tai lake would be benefit from reduced TP, TN and BOD,with north part of the lake which are among the worst polluted benefit the most.

In terms of pollutant loads to the TLB, the Project will reduce a total of COD load by 128.5 tonsper day, TP loads by 0.5 tons per day and NH3-N load by 6 tons per day by the six WWTPs.These reduction will contribute to achieving master plan targets (pollutant discharge loads andsurface water quality).

Other Project components will also benefit water quality in the Project area and the TLB. Theriver dredging will improve the hydrodynamic conditions of the Project rivers, characterized bythe increased cross-sectional flow and the removal of the contaminated sediment from theserivers would improve the river water quality. A mathematical model projects that the dredgingwould reduce the river CODMl by about 0.16-2.91 mg/L, or 2.6 to 25%, sufficient to upgrade thewater quality category. Similarly, the pollutant control and lake shore rehabilitation programs, ifthe gates operate as designed and the shoreline has been restored, there will be a reduction ofCOD input into the lake by 445 t/year, TP, 4.85 t/year and TN, 51.35 t/year, contributing to thelake water quality improvement.

The indirect and induced benefits will be significant. In particular, there are a large number ofresidents living virtually on the dredged rivers (with their houses as the bank and their backwindows open on the rivers). The cleaned riverbeds are expected to reduce the nuisance odor inthe summer, enhance the hygiene and sanitation of their "backyard", the rivers, increase the valueof their properties, and improve the environment in which they live.

Other additional potential benefits to be brought by the Project include:* Recovered ecosystem in the TLB area, helping restoration of aquatic life and increasing of

bio-diversity;* Reduced pollution to crops irrigated currently by polluted water and increased agricultural

and aquacultural yields and productivity;* Increased property values for land and real estate of lakeshore and river side areas;* Improved environmental infrastructure for sustained economic developments and attracting

outside investments;* Improved recreation and environmental aesthetics of the communities of the project area;• Increased revenues from tourism; and* Improved bio-diversity and ecosystem.

53 Air and odor impacts

EHlofHohai University 16 Novemnber2003


The primary air emissions from WWTPs will be extremely nuisance odors generated from gritremoval tanks, primary tanks and sludge handling processes. The pumping stations could also bea source of such odors. The main constituents of such odors are NH3, H2S, and methyl sulfide.

An air diffusion model was used in the EA to predict the concentrations of the air emissionconstituents which cause the odor. Based on the maximum allowed H2S concentration of 0.01mg/m3, and different odor intensity of each WWTPs, the modeling shows (Table 5.1) that thedistance to reach the residential area standards varies from about 100 m from the WWTP inWuzhong up to 350 m in Fuxin. Within this distance, there is no residential or other sensitivereceptor surrounding the WWTPs except Loujiang WWTP combining another industrial source atthe same site, the odor is expected to exceed the standard.

Table 5.1 Odor Standard and Protected DistanceWWTPs Odor Protective Distance (m)Huishan 150Anzhen 200

Dongting 200Loujiang 300

Fuxin 350Wuzhong 100

There will be a significant positive impact in terms of air quality related to odor. Besides thoseliving near the dredged rivers as mentioned above, more urban and rural residents living at veryclose distances to open ditches or canals which are heavily polluted by raw sewage, with badodors particularly in the summer. With the Project's sewage interception pipeline and wastewatertreatment components, a large volume of wastewater currently discharged into the rivers will becollected and diverted to WWTPs. With much improved water quality in those rivers, the odor inthe ambient air is expected to reduce or eliminate, benefiting riverside residents, as well as thegeneral environment.

5.4 Noise impacts

Main noise sources from WWTPs during the operation phase include lifting pumps, sludgepumps and blowers in the wastewater treatment plant and submerged pumps in the pumpingstations. The noise at the sources could be up to 95 dB(A) for various equipment and 93 dB(A)inside the pumping stations. In addition, shiplock operation will generate noise mainly fromwaiting boat motors and the shiplock itself The noise intensity at source will be about 80-90dB(A).

A fixed source noise attenuation model was applied in the EA to forecast noise impacts. Themodeling results show that noise levels at the villages near Anzhen WWTP will be 44.2-50.5dB(A) during the daytime and 42.1 to 48.4 dB(A) at night, complying with the applicablestandards. There is no village or other sensitive receptor in the remaining WWTPs. The closestresidential area to the shiplock is about 70 m. the modeling shows that at this distance, the noisewill meet the Class 11 standards (for mixed residential and commercial zones), but when a noiseintensity is 90 dB(A) for some of the boats, the night time noise would exceed the standardsslightly.

5.5 Visual impacts



There will be apparent positive visual impacts from the Project. This will mainly be from theimproved water quality through wastewater interception and treatment and enhancedhydrodynamics from water flow regulation, restored ecosystems and lakeshore rehabilitation.However, the shiplocks and water gates in Suzhou will be mostly built in the ancient urban area,some near cultural relics. The rivers where the structures are to be built will also be importanttourist routes/attractions. The large shiplock and water gate structures could be outstanding fromthe surrounding buildings and environment pose an adverse impact in the tourist area, particularlyto the cultural relics such as Hanshan temple.

5.6 Sludge disposal impacts

The three municipal WWTPs in Suzhou will generate a total of 226 m3/d of sludge containingroughly 80% moisture, while the three in Wuxi will generate Ill m3/d of similar sludge. Thesludge is to be disposed of in municipal landfills.

There are operating municipal solid waste landfills in Wuxi (Taohuashan) and Suzhou (Qizishan)which will be the sludge disposal sites for the six Project WWTPs, respectively. The landfills aredesigned with sanitary landfill standards, with leachate vertical and lateral movement control,leachate collection and treatment, site drainage management system, waste compacting, dailycoverage, and site environmental monitoring. The landfills have total capacities of 4.26 and 4.7million m3 , respectively. The sludge to be disposed of at these landfills will be small portions oftheir daily disposal capacities and as such, although there will be an impact to the lifespans ofthese landfills, the impact will be limited. Both landfills have already had agreements to acceptthe sludge from the six proposed WWTPs. In addition, Wuxi and Suzhou both have plans for newlandfills and hazardous waste disposal center by the end of 2006.

A key potential environmental concem is contamination of groundwater by leachate from thelandfills, which will contain high concentrations of organics and, highly likely, heavy metalspresent in the sludge. The both landfills have impermeable layers preventing leachate frominfiltrating into the ground and allow its collection and treatment. In addition, both landfills arelocated in mountainous areas where groundwater tables are deep (20-30 m) and the groundwatermonitoring data show it is not affected by the landfill operations.

There are no sensitive receptors in the immediately adjacent areas surrounding the landfills.Furthermore, daily coverage of newly deposited sludge with a 20-30 cm layer of clean soil willminimize nuisance conditions at the landfills such as odors and flies.

Sludge hauling is another potential environmental concem. Potential leaking, odors as well asheavy traffic of hauling trucks themselves would affect the environment and residents along thehaul routes. Ring roads and other roads detouring city centers have been designated for sludgetransportation, to avoid heavily populated areas or business districts. Special, water-tight haulingtrucks will be used to avoid odors and leaking from contaminating the haul routes.

5.7 Socio-economic impacts

Resettlement and compensation plans have been prepared and are covered in a separate"Resettlement Action Plan" (RAP). The summary of land acquisition and people affected isshown in the following table 5.2.



Table 5.2 Project affected land statisticsPermanent Temporary

Project City Land Acquisition People Affected Land Acquisition People Affected(ha) PolAfetd(ha) _______

Wuxi 43.53 2,801 453.33 45Suzhou 17.03 167 90.33 172Total 60.56 2,968 543.66 217

5.8 Environmental mitigation measures

Design Phase

* All project sites will be carefully selected to avoid or minimize potential impacts to theenvironment.

* All WWTP layouts will be arranged in such a way that it would minimize the impacts to thesurrounding sensitive receptors particularly for Anzhen and Loujiang WWTPs with villagesand guest house nearby.

* The shiplock and gates will be designed to integrate and harmonize the style andcharacteristics with the surrounding architectures and communities.

* All the mitigation measures will be incorporated in the engineering designs.

Construction Phase

* Construction sites, transportation routes and materials handling sites will be water sprayed indry and winding days up to 2 times a day, especially if these sites are near sensitive receptors,such as villages and residential areas.

* Construction activities will be scheduled carefully to minimize the impact of noise fromconstruction machinery to the surrounding environment. Nighttime uses of certain noisymachines such as excavators/dredgers and concrete vibrators, etc. will be prohibited.

* Any chance finds of cultural relics during construction will be preserved/protected andreported to the authority for further evaluation and proper handling before resumingconstruction activities

* Sewage and other waste from construction camps in rural areas will be collected and divertedto municipal systems to avoid contamination of the surrounding areas.

• Temporary land occupation, particularly in the farm land, will be planned well ahead of theconstruction in consultation with the farmers and others affected to minimize the loss of crops.At the end of the temporary uses, the land will be re-stored to its original state.

* The dredged sediment disposal site has clay layer at its base. This base will be compactedduring site preparation to further reduce it infiltration ability. A settling pond will be includedin the design for leachate treatment and SS removal. The site will be well landscaped togetherwith the city's landscaping plan for the entire area at this site.

* All sludge barges will be banned to operate at night. Those which do not meet environmentalstandards (motor oil leaking, barge body leaks, excessive motor noise, etc.) will not beretained for sediment shipping.

Operational Phase


Tai Basin Urban Environment Project Summnary EA

* Properly follow the operation procedures and ensure plants and sludge disposal facilitiesoperational as designed, to ensure treatment efficiency, to properly handle the sludge and tominimize the generation and emission of nuisance odors.

* Sludge generated from the WWTPs will be tested twice by the leaching test procedure todetermine whether it is hazardous waste, within the first year of the WWTP operation. If it is,the sludge will be diverted to the hazardous waste disposal facilities to be built in 2006 inboth Wuxi and Suzhou, instead of the municipal solid waste landfills, under the current plan.

* Develop contingency plans for power failure, overflows, equipment malfunctioning and otherconditions which may affect the proper functioning of the WWTPs resulting in discharge ofraw wastewater into the receiving environment.

* Noisy equipment and machinery will be regularly maintained to be in good conditions toavoid excessive noise.

* Maintain good housekeeping at the WWTPs and other Project facilities and minimize impactsto the surrounding communities.

* Maintain regular consultation with the residents in the nearby communities and respondpromptly any concerns they may raise with regard to the operations of the wastewater,pumping station and sludge handling and disposal facilities.

6 Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan

Several organizations, both government and corporate, will take the responsibility forenvironmental management. These organizations and their responsibilities for environmentalmanagement the Project are:

* Jiangsu Provincial Project Management Office, the overall leading agency for the projectimplementation will take the ultimate responsibility for environmental protection andmanagement in the course of implementation;

* Suzhou and Wuxi Environmental Protection Bureaus will be responsible for enforcement ofenvironmental regulations and standards and review of environmental monitoring reports.

* Suzhou Water Authority, Wuzhong Industrial Park authority, Wuxi Wuli Lake ManagementAuthority and Anzhen township government, will be responsible for the day-to-dayenvironmental management during the construction and operations as they will also be theoperator and owner of the WWTPs. Their responsibilities will include engagement ofprofessional supervision and monitoring services, allocation of budget for environmentalmanagement, response to environmental monitoring reports and taking mitigation actions asappropriate, and handling of any environmental emergency and other adverse impacts notadequately projected by the EA which may occur during construction.

• Environmental monitoring stations will be responsible for environmental monitoring for airquality, noise, water quality, and other impacts to the environment by the project during boththe construction and operation phases.

* Contractors will be responsible for mitigation measures for construction phase.

A training program, including both local and overseas training, has been prepared formanagement and technical staff from above mentioned organizations. Training contents willinclude environmental regulations, wastewater treatment technologies, environmental monitoring,sludge handling and disposal, and handling and responses to environmental accidents. In total, itis planned that 90 people will participate in the domestic environmental training and 45 in theoverseas training.



In order to ensure that the Project implementation in compliance with relevant environmentalstandards and regulations and as forecast in this EA, a comprehensive monitoring program hasbeen prepared for water, air and noise. The plan covers both the construction phase and operationphase of the Project. The monitoring program is summarized in Table 6.1 and the estimated costfor the monitoring program is presented in Table 6.2.

Table 6.1 Environmental Monitorin ProgramEnvironment Items Construction Phase 0 eration Phase

Suzhou River Network Dred in ComponentParameters SS, Oils pH, CODMn, SS, NH 3-N, TP, Oils

Water Locations 5 location along rivers 8 location along riversFrequency Monthly Bimonthly

Parmeer pH, Total soluble solids, CODM., NH3-N, volatile phenol, N0 3-N,Hg, cadmium, Cr', copper, arsenic, lead, zinc

Groundwater Locations 2 locations at the Sanjiaozui sediment disposal siteOnce during dry, average and wetseasons respectively.

Parameter H2S H2S, NH3

Locations.3 locations along dredging 1 locations along dredging riverAmbient air river

Monthly in first 3 years (reducefrequency until the site is steady)

Parameter Leg (A) /Noise Locations 3 locations, most sensitive

receptors by riverFrequency Week in day and night time /

pH, water content, thickness

Parameter of sediment, Hg, cadmium, /Sediment chromium, copper, arsenic,

lead, zinc, nickelLocations 22 locations at river network /Frequency Once before construction /

Effluent of Parameter Same as those of groundwaterSanjiaozui Locations 1 location at I km downstream of effluent outlet

sedis sent Frequency Monthly in first 3 years (reduce frequency until the site is steady)

Suzhou Polluted Water Control ComponentParameter SS, Oils pH, SS, CODcr, NH3-N, TP, Oils

Surface water Locations 5 at Xujiang and Shangtang 2 in Xujiang and Shangtang riversSurfae watr Loctions riversFrequency Monthly BimonthlyParameter Leg (A) Leg (A)

Noise Locations 2 locations at residential area 2 locations at residential areaFrequency Weekly in day and night time. Monthly in day and night timeParameter TSP

Ambient air Locations 3 locations at residential area /Frequency Monthly /



Wuli Lake Rehabilitation Com onentWater quality: waterwt

Wate H DO, Br quality: water temperature,temperature, pH, DO, BOD5 pH, DO, BOD5 , CODm, NH3-N,CODm, NH3-N, volatile volatile phenol, TP, TN, Oils, SS,phenol, TP, TN, Oils, SS. trnpecySediment: organic matter, TP, transparency.Sedient oranicmater,TP,Sediment: organic matter, TP, TN,TN, total Hg, total cadmium,6'

6+ , t , total Hg, total cadmium, Cr6, totalCr6 , total copper, total, Cr., total copper, zinc, copper, total arsenic, total lead,Parameter arsenic, total lead, total zc. total zinc

Organism: species Organism: species compositioncomposition, community s ,

Lakesructur, quanticommunity structure, quantity andLake structtie, quantitypand n distribution of phytoplankton,

distribution ofphyop and zooplankton, benthos and vascularvaooplarn bulewaths .and bundle water plant; species andvascular bundle water plant; cotn of micoogansmspecies and content of chorophyll a.microorganism.

4 at Wuli Lake and 2 at MeiliangLocations 4 locations at Wuli Lake Lake

Water quality: MonthlyFrequency Sediment and Organism: Wate qal MOni:ly

Quarterly Sediment and Organsm: QuarterlyWater temperature, pH, DO, Water temperature, pH, DO,

Parameter BOD 5, COD , NH3-N, BOD5, CODm, NH3-N, volatileRiver volatile phenol, TP, TN, Oils, phenol, TP, TN, Oils

SSLocations 11 at rivers around Wuli lake 17 at rivers around Wuli lakeFrequency Monthly Monthly

Water temperature, pH, DO,Effluent of Parameter BOD5, CODm, NH3-N,Xuelang volatile phenol, TP, TN, Oils,sediment SS

disposal site Locations I at effluent outlet /Frequency Monthly /

pH, total soluble solids, CODm,,,Parameter pH, CODm, NH3-N, SS, NH3-N, volatile phenol, N0 3-N,

N0 3 -N, volatile phenol Hg, cadmium, Cr6, copper,arsenic, lead, zinc

Groundwater Locations 3 locations at the disposal site 3 locations at the disposal siteMonthly Once during dry, average and wet

Frequency seasons respectively in first 3 years(reduce frequency until the site issteady).

Parameter Leq (A) /Noise Locations 3 locations at construction site /

Frequency Week in day and night time /Parameter TSP /

Ambient air Locations 3 locations at construction site /Frequency Monthly /

EHlofIHohai University 22 November 2003


The diseases to be preventedand treated include hepatitis,diarrhea and typhoid in

Parameter waterbome infection, as well /as malaria, paragonimiasis

Public health and filariasis in natural focalPublic healthdies disease

Locations Construction site /Health inspection and

Frequency preventive vaccine beforeentering construction site,regular sterilization

WWTPs Component(a) Flow*, pH*, SS, CODcr*,BOD5, NH3-N, TP, TN, DO*,MLSS*, chloride, (* beingautomatic online monitoring item),

Parameter / (b) Bacillus coli,(c) Aldehyde, oils, volatile phenol,sulfide, fluoride, cyanide, aniline,and,(d) Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr6 +, As, Hg, Cd,Ni, total Cr.

Locations / Effluent outlet of WWTPEffluent Plant monitoring:

Daily for (a), Weekly for (b),Monthly for (c), Twice a year for(d) in Fuxing and Loujiang WWTPDaily for (a), Weekly for (b),Monthly for (c) and (d) in the rest

Frequency / WWTPs.Supervisory monitoring:Quarterly for (a), (b) and (c),Yearly for (d) in Fuxing andLoujiang WWTP.Quarterly in the rest WWTPs.

Parameter Leg (A) Leg (A)

Locations 4 points at boundary of 4 at boundary of WWTPNoise ~WWTP

Once before construction Weekly in first 3 months, MonthlyFrequency period, Monthly during in day and night time if no obvious

construction period change.Parameter / H2S, NH3 , odor concentration

Upwind and downwind atLocations / boundary of WWTP and pumping

Ambient air stationMonthly in first year, twice in

Frequency / summer and once in spring andautumn if no obvious impact



Parameter Water content, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr6,As, Hg, Cd, Ni and bacillus coli.

Sludge Locations / WWTP

Frequency Twice a month in first 3 monthsand four times a year later

Parameter pH, CODCr, SS pH, CODcr, BOD5, NH3-N, TP,Parameter pH, CODEr, ~ TN, volatile phenol.

Locations 1 at river near construction Upstream and 400m downstreamsite from the effluent outlet

River Bimonthly during normaldischarge, and twice a day for 2

Frequency Monthly days in case of accidentalwastewater discharge at 400mdownstream from the effluentoutlet

Table 6.2 Summery of Monitoring CostProject Ci. Environmental Monitoring Cost Estimates (RMB/Year)

Construction phase Operation phase TotalWuli lake rehabilitation 142,000 138,000 280,000Suzhou river dredging 35,000 43,000 78,000Suzhou polluted water control 48,000 68,000 108,000WWTPs 43,200 1,036,800 1,080,000Total annual cost 268,200 1,285,800 1,546,000

7 Public Consultation

Stakeholders from the public were consulted during the project EA, particularly those who will bedirectly affected by the Project, such as urban and rural residents near proposed pipelines,WWTPs, sediment dredging rivers and sludge disposal sites. The primary methods applied in thepublic participation has been public opinion questionnaires, supplemented by publicmeetings/hearings and interviews of key individuals and organizations.

At least two rounds of public participation have been conducted for each of the Projectcomponents. The first round was at the EA document (component EA) preparation stage focusingon environmental screening to gather public concerns and to assist identification of keyenvironmental issues for detailed assessment. The second round was at the draft EA documentstage, designed to draw public responses and recommendations on the initially developedmitigation measures for the potential adverse impacts identified. In some components a thirdround consultation was conducted by the project wide EA team to further increase the awarenessof the EA effort and final project definition and mitigation. During the process of publicparticipation, telephone hotlines, set up at the beginning of EA, has been maintained in each PMOto solicit and address environmental issues from the public. Details of the three rounds of publicparticipation are presented in Table 7.1.



Table 7.1 Two Rounds of Public ParticipationRound Project Stage Main Objective

* Identify stakeholdersFirst Project identification/ * Secure PMO commitment to public consultation

(screening) Environmental screening * Agree on the extent and mode of consultation* Initial public concems about the Project

Before finalization of * Communicate project and impact informationSecond EA report * Invite public opinions and concerns

* Initial response on mitigation measures

7.1 First round of public consultation

In the first round of the public consultation, public opinion questionnaire was used as mainmethod in each of the nine physical works of the Project. Details of these opinion surveys aresummarized in Table 7.2.

Table 7.2 Summary of First Round Questionnaire

Physical works Date Location No. ofparticipant

rehabilitation Oct.2002 Dafu, Dongjiang, Jincheng and Xuelang towns 101

Anzhen WWTP May 2003 Nianyu, Nongxi villages 40

Huishan WWTP Jan.2003 Huishan district 43Dongting WWTP Oct.2002 Wangsongbang village. Zhuangqiao village etc 85River dredging Feb.2003 Pingjiang, Jinchang and Canglang district 100Control gate Feb.2003 Jinchang district 95

Loujiang WWTP Aug. 2003 Youlian, Meiwan village. 44

Fuxing WWTP Mar.2003 Hengtang town, Xiguo village. 49Wuzhong WWTP Oct.2002 Yinxi village and Hongzhuang residential area 120Total / / 677In addition, several public meetings were held around the Loujiang WWTP to further gatherpublic concerns and opinions on the Project.

7.2 Public concerns and responses

Virtually all surveyed were aware of the Project although a large proportion of the people did notknow the details of the Project at this time of survey. With regard to their opinions, while theoverwhelming majority of the public strongly support to the Project, they have also expressedconcerns for potential adverse impacts, both long-term and short-term, during the constructionand operation phases of the Project. For the each of the concerns expressed during the publicconsultation, a corresponding mitigation measure has been developed and communicated to theconcerned public. Table 7.3 summarizes the concerns, mitigation measures and publicsatisfactory rate to the mitigation measures.



Table 7.3 Public Concerns and ResponsesPotential impact Mitigation measure. . . ~~~~~~~* Periodical water sprayAir-bome dust in construction phase a Peed lmtfr veice

* ped limt for vehiclesNoise and vibration in construction * Rationalize construction schedulephase * Minimize night constructionWastewater and solid waste produced in * Use of septic tankconstruction camps * Dispose solid waste in landfillOdor in operation and in dredging * Keep odor sources covered or indoor

Night time construction/dredging * Banned* If absolutely necessary, consult the public first

Noise in operation phase * Proper insulation of noise sourcesSludge.hauling * avoid populated area, timing the hauling in momingSludge haulingannihtie

and night timeLeachate from sludge landfill site * Lining and leachate collection and small size

treatmnent facility at landfillsCompensation for farmland acquisition * Compensate according to state policiesCompensation for house demolition * Compensate according to state policies

Other recommendations from the public* Rational planning and design should be undertaken to screen possible altemative options to

achieve best cost-effectiveness;* Sufficient fund should be provided to the WWTP and related transfer facilities to ensure

sustainable operation;* Full effort should be concentrated on construction phase to minimize construction period;* Safeguard facilities such as warning signal, temporary road and fence should be installed.

7.3 Second round

The second round of public consultation was conducted in July 2003 when the Project wide EAdraft report was completed. The main objective was to explain to the public of the EA findingsparticularly the mitigation measures which had been designed and included in the EA andenvironmental plan. Selected representative components were covered by this round of survey,totaling in four towns and four villages. The consulted public had the similar concerns as hadbeen expressed in the first round and they were most satisfied with the mitigation measuresdesigned for this Project.

7.4 Information disclosure

Advertisements have been placed in the most dominant and popular newspapers in the Projectcities to describe the project and its potential impacts and to invite the public to express theirconcerns about the project. In addition, the draft EA reports and other project related informationincluding project environmental information has been placed in both project management officesand environmental institutes involved in the EA for public reviews and comments. The telephonehotline at the EA teams and manned by environmental specialists is another source of informationto the public about the project and potential project impacts. Furthermore, a website have been setup (http://www.hhu.edu.cn) to release the EA information and to solicit public opinions andresponses online.



8 Conclusions

The environmental assessment for the Tai Basin Urban Environment Project has drawn the

following conclusions:

* The TLB has been suffering severe pollution in virtually all its rivers particularly by nutrients

and the water quality is expected to deteriorate along the rapid development and population

growth if no action is taken. As a result of the direct discharge of a large quantity of

contaminants into its waterways every day, the surface water pollution has been worsening at

an alarming rate and has threatened the ecosystem, the standard of living of the regional

residents and sustainable development.a The Tai Basin Urban Environment Project, to be partially financed by the World Bank, fits

well into the integrated environmental management plan for the basin which is one of the top

state and provincial pollution control priorities. While the Project alone cannot resolve the

problem and meet the government goal for surface water quality, it will be a key step and

contribute significantly towards achieving the goal.

* The benefits of the Project are significant. It will improve surface water quality in the area

rivers and Tai lake, reduce the health risk related to contaminated water supply, eliminate and

reduce the odor affecting the tens of thousands of urban and rural residents living near open

ditches and other heavily polluted water bodies, and other benefits to the river side

communities and the basin in general.* However, the Project will also cause some adverse impacts to the environment. During the

construction phase, dust, noise, construction camps, construction materials extraction, in river

dredging construction may affect the residents nearby and environment in the surrounding

area. During the operation phase, noise, odors, sediment shipping, sludge hauling, sediment

and sludge disposal and land acquisition will impact the villages around the project sites.

With a careful design and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, however, these

adverse impacts can be avoided, mitigated or otherwise compensated to acceptable levels.

To further ensure environmental protection and proper implementation of mitigation measures, an

environmental management plan has been developed involving govemment and professional

institutions for supervision, monitoring, and management of environmental affairs of the Project.

EHlofHohai University 27 Novemtber 2003

tai basin urban environment project environmental ......2004/04/08 · tai basin urban environment...

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